What are you listening to right now?

The Everly Brothers were known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close harmony singing. Don passed away in 2021 at the age of 84. Phil departed in 2014 he was 74.

In 1997, they were awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. They were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2001 and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2004. Their contribution to music has been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.

Long-simmering disputes with Wesley Rose, the CEO of Acuff-Rose Music, which managed the group, as well as changing tastes in popular music, led to the duo's decline in popularity.

In 1961, the brothers had a falling out with Wesley Rose during the recording of "Temptation". Rose was reportedly upset that the Everlys were recording a song which he had not published and for which he would not be paid any publishing royalties. Rose made efforts to block the record's release. The Everlys held firm to their position, and as a result, in the early 1960s, they were shut off from Acuff-Rose songwriters. These included Felice and Boudleaux Bryant, who had written and composed most of their hits including the “A” side to the song linked to here.

This was the “B” side to their 1957 #1 hit Wake Up Little Susie.

June Christy was a jazz singer, from Springfield, Illinois. She died of kidney failure on June 21, 1990, at the age of 64. Her real name was Shirley Luster.

After her death, she was hailed as "one of the finest and most neglected singers of her time."

In 1945, after hearing that Anita O'Day had left Stan Kenton's Orchestra, she auditioned and was chosen for the role as their vocalist. During this time, she changed her name becoming June Christy.

Writers of The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings, appreciated the singer's body of work: "Christy's wholesome but particularly sensuous voice is less an improviser's vehicle than an instrument for long, controlled lines and the shading of a fine vibrato. Her greatest moments – the heartbreaking 'Something Cool' itself, 'Midnight Sun', 'I Should Care' – are as close to creating definitive interpretations as any singer can come."

This song comes from Something Cool. It is her debut solo album released in August of 1954. according to jazz writer John Bush Something Cool was responsible for launching the cool movement in jazz singing.

The song was written by Lionel Hampton and Sonny Burke in 1947 and is now considered a jazz standard. Johnny Mercer wrote the words to the song. This was the 1st version of the song to include the recorded lyrics.

Beck, is a musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer from LA. He turned 54 in July. His birth name is Bek David Campbell.

He has won 8 Grammy Awards out of 22 nominations. His album Morning Phase, which is the album that includes the song below, won the Album Of The Year Grammy in 2015 & in 2019 he won Best Alternative Music Album for Colors.

He has been nominated for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame but has not made it yet.

All together he has released 14 studio albums, one compilation album, one remix album, four extended plays (EPs) and 52 singles.

This song comes from that Grammy winning album Morning Phase. It was his 12th studio album & was released in 2014. The album got to #3 in the US & is certified Gold. Not only did it win Album of the Year, but it also took home awards for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical and Best Rock Album.

There were 4 singles released. Blue Moon hit #9, Heart Is A Drum #18, Waking Light & Say Goodbye failed to chart.

There are a lot of different folks that played on this album including Stanley Clarke who plays a standup bass on this song.

Cold Chisel is an Australian band that has sold tons of records & won multiple awards down there, but have had little success here in the states. They are still active since their formation in 1973, after many times dissolving & reforming.

Ian Moss on lead guitar, Don Walker keyboards, Jimmy Barnes lead vocals were all there at the start & continue to be onboard. Phil Small plays bass & he joined in 1975 so he is almost a founding member. The newest guy is drummer Charley Drayton who joined in 2011. At the time of this album the drummer was Steve Prestwich.

They have released 9 studio albums, 9 Live albums & 32 singles. This song comes from East. It is their 3rd studio album & was released in June 1980. The album hit #171 here in the states & was the only one time they ever charted here.

Sérgio Mendes was a Brazilian musician & bandleader from Niteroi, Brazil. He passed away earlier this month from complications of long covid at the age of 83.

He won a Grammy in 1993 for Best World Music Album for Brasileiro.

Though his early singles with Brasil '66, most notably "Mas que Nada", met with some success, he found mainstream prominence when he performed the Oscar-nominated "The Look of Love" on the Academy Awards telecast in April 1968. Brasil '66's version of the song peaked at No. 4 and eclipsed Dusty Springfield's version from the soundtrack of the movie Casino Royale.

He released this song as a single from Equinox. It was their 2nd album & was released in April 1967. The album landed at #24 on the top 200 & #3 on the Top Jazz Albums chart. It has been certified Gold. The single came in at #82 on the Hot 100 & #8 on the Adult Contemporary Chart.

The song was written by Cole Porter for the 1932 musical Gay Divorce, it was introduced in the movie by Fred Astaire.

At this point in the career of the group the lineup was Sérgio Mendes – piano, vocals, John Pisano – guitar, Bob Matthews, William Plummer – bass, sitar, vocals, José Soares – percussion, vocals, João Palma – drums & Lani Hall, Janis Hansen – vocals.

Lani Hall has been married to Herb Alpert since 1973.

Dexter Gordon was a jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and bandleader from L.A. He died of kidney failure and smoking-related cancer of the larynx on April 25, 1990, at the age of 67.

Between December 1940 and 1943, he was a member of Lionel Hampton's band, playing in a saxophone section alongside Illinois Jacquet and Marshal Royal. During 1944 he was featured in the Fletcher Henderson band, followed by the Louis Armstrong band, before joining Billy Eckstine.

In 1978 and 1980, he was the DownBeat Musician of the Year, and in 1980 he was inducted into the Jazz Hall of Fame. The US Government honored him with a Congressional Commendation, a Dexter Gordon Day in Washington DC, and a National Endowment for the Arts award for Lifetime Achievement.

The list of albums he is featured on both as a leader & as a sideman has to be well over a 100. This particular song comes from his 1963 album called Our Man In Paris. He had moved from the US to Copenhagen in 1962 & recorded this album in Paris.

The Penguin Guide to Jazz gave it a maximum four-star rating and added it to the core collection, commenting that Gordon's playing on "A Night in Tunisia" "is one of his finest performances on record" and concluding that the album is "a classic".

The folks playing on the song are: Tenor Saxophone: Dexter Gordon, Piano: Bud Powell, Double Bass: Pierre Michelot & Drums: Kenny Clarke.

James Brown released his 1st single in 1956 & started off with a #6 hit on the R&B charts, but the song didn’t hit the Hot 100. He didn’t have a Pop crossover for the 1st time until 1958 & his 11th single, even then he didn’t hit the top 40 until 1960 & his 17th release.

The song linked to here was his 28th single & the 3rd top 40 hit for him. It reached #35 on the Hot 100 & #5 on the R&B chart. The song was not included on an album until he released a compilation album called “I Got You (I Feel Good)” in 1966.

The song has quite the convoluted history. The opening riff was first recorded in 1940 by a small group led by Duke Ellington’s sideman Johnny Hodges, under the title "That's the Blues, Old Man". Jimmy Forrest was part of Ellington's band when it performed this composition, which has a long tenor saxophone break in the middle. After leaving Ellington, Forrest recorded "Night Train" on United Records, and his record was the fifth best selling R&B record of 1952.

Jackson Browne is a musician, singer, songwriter born in Heidelberg, Germany & raised in Encino, California. He will turn 76 on the 9th of October.

After graduating from high school he joined the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, performing at the Golden Bear in Huntington Beach, California, where they opened for the Lovin' Spoonful. Later the band recorded a number of his songs, including "These Days", "Holding", and "Shadow Dream Song".

In 1968 he returned to Los Angeles, where he formed a folk band with Ned Doheny and Jack Wilce. This is when he first met Glenn Frey & the two of them would co – wrote Take It Easy.

He has been nominated for Grammy Awards 7 times, but has not won.

He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by Bruce Springsteen in 2004. And he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2007.

During his career he has released 15 studio albums & 44 singles. This song was on his album Running on Empty. It was his 5th album & it came out in 1977. The album charted at #3 & has been certified at 7 X Platinum. It included the singles “Running On Empty” #11, & “Stay/The Loadout” #20.

The album received 2 Grammy nominations. It was nominated for Album of the Year (it lost to the Saturday Night Fever Soundtrack) and for Pop Male Vocal Performance for the song "Running on Empty", (he lost to Copacabana by Barry Manilow).

The song was recorded on the band's Silver Eagle tour bus (hence the lyrical reference to "Silver Eagle") while en route from Portland, Maine to their next gig in New Jersey. The bus's engine is audible in the background. Drummer Russ Kunkel is credited as playing "snare, hi-hat, and cardboard box with foot pedal.

Dan Fogelberg was a singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist from Peoria, Illinois. He died of prostate cancer December 16, 2007 at the age of 56.

He was discovered by Irving Azoff, who started his music management career promoting REO Speedwagon. Azoff sent Fogelberg to Nashville, to hone his skills where he became a session musician and recorded his first album with producer Norbert Putnam. In 1972, he released his debut album Home Free to a lukewarm response, although it eventually reached platinum status.

He released 16 studio albums, 3 Live albums & 21 singles. Six of his solo albums achieved platinum status. This song was included on his 1977 album, Nether Lands. It was his 4th studio album, it landed at #13 on the top 200 & has been certified 2 X Platinum. They released “Love Gone By” & “Nether Lands” as singles, but neither one charted.

The album title is a play on Nederland, Colorado, the location of one of the studios used to record the album.

There are a lot of famous people that played on this album including JD Souther (RIP), Joe Vitale, Joe Walsh & Don Henley who sings backing vocals on the song linked to here.

Count Basie wrote One O’Clock Jump back in 1937.

The song was called One O'Clock Jump because the band practiced usually late at 1 AM. Each section makes up their part based on what the other sections are playing. Individuals take turns improvising over the top of the entire sound. He recorded "One O'Clock Jump" several times after June 1937.

It became the theme song of the Basie Orchestra. They used it to close each of their concerts for the next half century.

The song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1979.

Almost all the big swing bands have recorded or played the song live. Even rock acts have given it a go. Rush drummer Neil Peart included it in his drum solos on the band's concert tours in 2002 and 2004.

Little Johnny Taylor was a blues and soul singer from Gregory, Arkansas. He died at the age of 59, in May 2002. His real name was Johnny Lamont Merrett.

He is oftentimes confused with a guy named Johnnie Taylor. Both guys were around at the same time & Johnnie even did a cover version of the song that Little Johnny was most famous for, the song I have linked to here.

He began his career in Los Angeles in 1950, and sang with the Mighty Clouds of Joy before moving into secular music. Little Willie John influenced him to move into the R&B arena.

This song was written by Clay Hammond and features Arthur G. Wright on guitar. It became Johnny’s biggest hit, reaching #1 in the U.S. Billboard R&B chart, and #19 on the pop chart, in October 1963. It was his only Top 40 hit on the Pop Chart & his only #1 hit on the R&B Chart.

The debut album by America was released in January 1972.

The album hit #1 and stayed there for 5 weeks. It included two hit singles. "A Horse with No Name" which spent three weeks at #1 and "I Need You" which landed at #9. The album is certified platinum.

It originally came out without "A Horse with No Name", which was released as a single in Europe in late 1971 and in the US in January 1972. When the song became a worldwide hit in early 1972, the album was re-released & included the song.

The album got relatively good reviews with the exception of Rolling Stone which gave it 2 out of 5 stars. On the other side of the equation David Cleary in AllMusic called the album a "folk-pop classic" and concluded, "In spite of its flaws, this platter is very highly recommended."

All three of the guys wrote songs for the album. This one was written by Dan Peek. The steel guitar is played by David Lindley.

Miles Davis was a jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer from Alton, Illinois. After several days on life support, his machine was turned off and he died on September 28, 1991. He was 65 years old. His death was attributed to the combined effects of a stroke, pneumonia, and respiratory failure.

He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. He had a five-decade career that kept him at the forefront of many major stylistic developments in jazz.

But, he certainly has his critics. In 1990, writer Stanley Crouch, a prominent critic of jazz fusion, labeled Davis "the most brilliant sellout in the history of jazz," A 1993 essay by Robert Walser in The Musical Quarterly claims that "Davis has long been infamous for missing more notes than any other major trumpet player." And music critic James Lincoln Collier who states that "if his influence was profound, the ultimate value of his work is another matter," and calls Davis an "adequate instrumentalist" but "not a great one."

He was nominated for 32 Grammy Awards & won 8.

His discography includes 60 studio albums, 39 live albums, as well as 46 compilation albums, 27 box sets, 4 soundtrack albums, & 57 singles. He recorded his version of this song in 1953 but it wasn’t released until his 1956 album, Collectors' Items.

The song was written by Thelonious Monk in 1943. A version recorded by Monk's quintet was added to the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1993.

Over the years there have been a lot of people that were members of The New Christy Minstrels that went on to become pretty famous after they departed.

Barry McGuire who had a hit with Eve Of Destruction. Jerry Yester became a member of The Association & The Lovin Spoonful, Gene Clark went on to the Byrds, Kim Carnes & Kenny Rogers had successful solo careers.Terry Williams who joined Kenny as members of The First Edition, & many, many more.

The group released their 1st album in 1962 & were still releasing new stuff as late as 2013. This song was chosen as a single in 1963. It was a non album cut until they released an expanded edition of their Ramblin album. The single landed at #29. During this era, Barry McGuire was still a member & I believe he is handling some of the lead vocals on this.